The Unpolitical Foundation of Political Realism

This article aims at exploring political realism and, in particular, examining the way in which the fundamental definition of international relations theory is formulated. The main thesis is that the way in which the concept of realism is structured conflicts with the inherent meaning of the proposition of ‘political realism’ because it ignores the essence of the concept of the ‘political’. This conflict is expressed in defining realism entirely in terms of and within the conceptual field of ethics. Realism thus becomes not an essentially political theory but a moral-normative one, which takes away its explanatory potential. The only way to overcome this theoretical obstacle is through changing the presuppositions of realism with those belonging to political reality